Friday, April 04, 2008

So this is our latest homeschool adventure ~ we now have 12 little peeping balls of fuzz!!! And they are SOO cute!! And we are SOOO popular with all the neighborhood kids! And I'll be SOOOO impressed if half of them make it into adult-hood ~ cuz they are SOOOOOO loved!

First, we read up on chickens, & egg-layers for our area, & what it takes to brood them, & raise pullets for laying, and all of that. Then we went to a wonderful little family-run farm (small world, turned out Wood Genius knew the gentleman who owned it through Scouting) where they let us go & look at their hens, along with all the other animals they had. ( There were goats, lambs, peacocks, & I think even a cow or two.)

They had mostly Rhode Island Reds & Sex-links, but they also said that some are ~indiscriminate mix & match~.

Our next step was to prepare a brooder, & order the chicks. On the day of their arrival, we heated up the brooder so it would be all nice & warm for the chicks, & then waited with baited breath. And finally, AT LAST ~ They came!

This is a Rhode Island Red, a Barred Rock, & an Auracauna.

Here you can also see the Buff Orpington's, and the White Leghorns. Also, notice that mason jar feeder. These little ladies are only on their second day of life, first day at our house, and they have already consumed almost an entire mason jar of medicated chick starter. AND, they have gone through an entire mason jar of water as well. Which makes for quite the lovely toodles ( or shall we say *chicken gravy*).

These are Liz's Buff Orpington's.

This is is Izzy's Auracauna.

Bek chose Barred Plymouth Rocks.

Aren't they SOOO SWEETTT??

And perky, too. So far, we haven't had any problems with mean chickens, but they have already established a pecking order.

Kat chose White Leghorns.

And Jess & I chose Rhode Island Red's.

This little lady is the only one I am worried about ~ She is sort of listless, sleeps more than the other chicks, & she is also tinier than the other ones. She toddles around with her wings sort of dragging. Here she is, ~ going.....

Gooooiiinnnggg..........

Gone! The next step, is where she lays her beak down on the ground and just sort of hunches there, snoring away.

Anyway, more on the Chicken Adventures soon! Hopefully, they make it through the night, other wise, we'll have 5 highly distraught youth, as well as about 7 sad little neighbors. (All of whom wish, on a regular basis, that they too could be homeschooled.)

About Me

I love my husband, children & grandchildren. They bring me more happiness & peace than I deserve. I also love all those little things in life that make me stop and wonder. Like a 2 yr old discovering an ant, or the beauty of a spider in a rose, or the vista from atop a mountain trail. Sounds corny, but it's true! I love backpacking into a place and stopping along the way to eat the berries, and identify all the wild flowers. I love sleeping in the middle of nowhere in a tent, ( with my little self-inflating mattress! ;-D) Try it sometime, guarantee you'll go back for more ~ ;-D And I love to take pictures of all the beautiful things along the way.